How Jesus Deals with Our Evil From Within
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Have you ever felt not quite yourself? Bone tired, irritable, or just down - and a settled grumpiness or even more dramatically your are in a dazed haze - hardly aware of what you are doing? If we are honest those aren’t our best moments - there are a hundred other times in our lives when fully aware of who we are and what we are doing . In more extreme cases psychologically talk of being out of your mind, insane. That’s not what this passage is about. But spiritually a demon, fallen angel who is in service of the prince of demons Satan - can take possession of a person - to various degrees, become a bother and harm to themselves and to those around them. That is what happened to this man, though that’s not the point of event in Jesus life. But spiritually all of us, fallen human being sinners, have become people who un-hinged - the bible tells us all born into this world - born deceived by Satan, under his dominion and influence, un-hinged and not ourselves - because the human being is designed to be hinged to the living God. As the early church Father Irenaus put it: you know what the glory of God is? Its man fully alive! o you get that we were made in the image of God and the more we manifest God in who we are and how we live that more God’s glory shines out. And Satan hates, that and deceiving this whole world - Satan’s mission to distort and destroy the image of God in man! That’s why demon possession isn’t about mental health or psychology that’s a different problem all struggle with to one degree on pendulum. Demon possession is not merely about sickness, but as Werner Foerster says: its about a destruction and distortion of the divine likeness of man according to creation. The center of personality, the volitional and active ego, is inspired by alien powers which seek to ruin man! And this spiritual bondage and destruction of God’s image - tortures a person and makes living around that person kind of rotten, it wrecks this world. But you don’t have to be demon possessed for Satan to have that kind of influence in your life:
There is demonization which is less noticeable: 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Perfectly respectable even spiritual people, as conventional as you and I but influenced and distorted and pulled away by the devil. And in fact all of Ephesians 2:1-4a
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
And the biggest deal of this miracle story in the first half, the Galilee ministry of Mark -is who is Jesus and what does he do with people no longer fully alive, who aren’t themselves,? Who is Jesus to this man and to you and me? And what does He do? And the second biggest question is who are we and how do we respond to people who are spiritually unclean, not themselves, lost? And so we will need to put ourselves in the sandals of this demoniac, as well as of this crowd to encounter and discover Jesus not only as the Lord of the Storm but the Saviour from the storms of life from without, but of the storms of evil within.
This story is like this mornings demonstration of the secret of the kingdom of the person and work of Jesus and it comes in the face of another extreme conflict - like Jesus the Son of God vs. chaos, now verses Satan’s evil within that destroy. And it will be followed by 3 others stories of who Jesus is in the conflict of sickness and death and how His mission is to meet us i these struggles and bring ultimate deliverance. SO are you ready to enter this extreme struggle with the worst kind of soul destroying evil? Ready to meet your Saviour there? In the sandals of the demoniac let’s first discover the great tragedy of evil that you must not turn away from!
A. Don’t deny the great tragedy of evil
A. Don’t deny the great tragedy of evil
Now there is something so bizarre and strange about this demon possession, but also about Mark’s description. Though vivid Mark is usually quite brief and fast paced, but slow motion, and longest description of this episode right behind story of climatic battle with forces of chaos the Sea - the disciples saying we’ll perish - Jesus as the one who as God bring peace be still out of chaos of this world. And right after that Mark paints most vivid detail and long account of this demoniac. Jesus has just said to his disciples and Mark to his readers us Christians, to get Jesus you must know He is the strong man who binds Satan, dispossesses him of his kingdom in order to bring the kingdom of God. That kingdom going to come like a mustard seed. And now I am going to show you how!
It’s still night time after squall complete the 13km row and now come to shore, James and John securing the boat. And Mark records four things that should tell us Jesus has planned this trip to go to the untouchables the outsiders - the unclean. They are in the country region of the Gerasenes, this is Gentile territory - taken over from Herod’s by Romans’ ruled ever since. But Mark also tells us this man will come to them from his dwelling place. Actually bulldozer making road in 1971 unearthed the tombs of this region, about 6km out of a town called Gergesa/ Kursi meaning exiled, and this is where the man has been forced to live. Maybe married once with wife and kids, has a mom and a dad, friends and neighbours, but something happened - like a friend of mine in high school - and we tired to include him - but just to tough. Before you know it living by himself, and for Jews make you unclean to live by death, - These people of the Gersenes know this mans out of his mind, and only way ancients dealt with such a man - danger to himself to others - chain him up. But as can be the case with real demon possession a supernatural strength - wrenches those chains apart. And before we now see what he does, look a the description of his life in Mark 5:5
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
This is Satan’s intent to de-humanize and cut off a person from the image of God, - to destroy the apple of God’s eye. In those clear moments if he had them he knew he was a wreck and forsaken and miserable. And he he’s always crying out in anguish and look he is self-mutilating, he is cutting himself .
Why does Mark give us so much detail in his paced paced account? We are to see a threefold description of evil that Jesus confronts.
i. These Gentiles or errant Jews they try to control this man with chains, to force a change his behaviour, but this man breaks those chains. Do you understand that is what we are up against with all evil. Look at Mark’s conclusion in Mark 5:4
for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
Evil runs through every man’s heart. Even the best man or woman - and we think we can chain that evil within us and change our behaviors. I know this is evil or sinful and I am just going to stop - over eating, foul mouth, stop lusting . And we parent like this - oh this kid is going off the rails, just modify their behaviour swift kick in the pants. And if they smarten up - well must be Christian because outward behaviours - just fine. Paul Tripp talks of countless so called Christian youth leave home each fall go off to college - evil dealt with in home in church just behaviorally - but the root of the problem of evil isn’t in the behaviour that’s the symptom. What is the root of the problem of evil in your life and mine, regardless of demonic influence. It resides in the heart. And no one has the strength to subdue evil by themselves there! We are alike this helpless demoniac on that score when it comes to actually dealing with our own evil.
ii. But the second discovery we must make about evil in our heart from this demoniac is in what the evil spirits within this man get him to do. They have robbed him of his work his home his relationships. He’s obviously attacked the people closest to him, and what next - he’s attacked himself. Evil is self-destructive! And though if you’re a believer demon possession is impossible, Satan’s influence with evil in your life has the exact same end. The sin that you are carried way with - Satan would speak of the pleasure and gratification of living in that sin - but we all need to know the end the goal the heart of sin -is destruction. We see this not only in the cutting, but in what these demons are so bent on - don’t want to leave the region, even in f in pigs - evil leads to running off a cliff - and utter death. Augustine put it this way evil is n’t a thing itself, its the deprivation of the good. Just taking away a destroying. Lust promises, Greed promises you, Gossip promises you - but hook in that sinful pleasure that Satan lead you to story others around you, destroy yourself, and break down.
iii. And there is one more thing before the action with Jesus and this man starts that you must notice. You can see it when he comes toe to face with Jesus. Mark 5:6
And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
Now you got to feel how strange this all is. No sooner is the boat moored and they are about to step out with their gear in to the wilderness. Some food, a few extra outer tunics, still night chill in the air, than hey catch a glimpse of a figure running frenzied, among the rocks down the cliff right at them. He sees Jesus - the one just shown Himself to be God Himself commanding winds and the waves, and what does he do - He worship s him, with air quotations. Its the NT word for worship. Literally falls down at his feet. But the thing is only used here and at the end of the gospel of Mark when Romans soldiers mock Jesus dressing him up as King, falling at his feet.
The Greek tense has it that he first screams the most primeval guttural long scream at the top f his lungs, then speaks. And what does he say: and this is the man not the demons speaking at first. Mark 5:7
And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
Absolutely astonishing - the Gentiles of this and every areas had local gods, polytheism, but just about everyone recognized a God on the other side of their mountain. What they called the God of Israel in the OT if referring to the LORD the God of Israel, the God who made the heaven and earth - Even the Gk spoke of this one most High God. and the people may not know who Jesus is yet, not even his disciples, but the demons sure recognize him and so does this demoniac. But what does he want? Literally he is saying, You me, what do we have in common. What have you to do with me If I said that to you - probably wouldn’t think I like you let alone want to worship you. So why does he say this kneeling down. That’s given at the end of v.7 - In the ancient world you pronounce the name of a spirit have power over it and can control it. Preempting Jesus. This isn’t true worship that would transform a person. This is false worship, that doesn’t fit into God’s glory and plan but tries to control God and force Him to do distorted mans’ sinful destructive plans. And I think we should pause their and ask - do I worship God to fit into His glorious and saving plans, or do I worship him - to control him and make him in a magic way fit into my plans?
Evil can’t be controlled, its self-destructive, and it wants to unGod God and use him as a tool. And we need to recognize that the storm of evil within each one of us, every bit as dangerous as any storm of life and we need this Jesus to act if we’re ever to be saved!
And that brings us to
B. Embrace the Transforming Mercy & Grace
B. Embrace the Transforming Mercy & Grace
Now if you and I were in that boat as disciples and we saw this man run up like this, treat the King of the World like this, if someone from downtown Barrie, walking straight down Essa turning right on Adragh Rd and marched in here screaming, half-naked, all dis-shelved. Probably one of two things would happen - either you and I would run out of here - or we’d try to get him out of here to tie up and deal with in another way. Either way we would look at Ben Johannan, he must have had some name - and we would say that’s too much that’s too far, whole point of all the Jewish uncleanness of this scene - and we’d say that guy is hopeless - never change write off!
That guy, Ben Johannan has even said it of himself. He says to Jesus - you only come to judge to punish to torment me - like everyone else and I am myself. This guy has and is living in a pre-hell. And its futile and pathetic.
But do you know who Saint Jude is? Brother of James and half brother of Jesus, didn’t believe at first. You know in Memphis Tennessee a doctor started a hospital just for the supposedly incurable diseases of children. Hospital of hopeless cases. Well That’s who Jesus is here. You and I and this demoniac in the inward storm of evil - helpless hopeless and He says my kingdom is a hospital for such as these.!
Jesus does something that Ben Johanan hadn’t had someone do to him a long time. He asked him his name. Wowee - do you think Jesus would ever do that to you? But the demons take over and look what Mark records at the demons response: Mark 5:9
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
Here is crisis point of this miracle story - this isn’t just about one deranged man and miracle worker. This is about a deranged man who has been taken hostage by one of Satan’s armies, like Rome 6000 soldiers and Jesus is the strong man who says I will take on Satan and his whole force of evil. But both times what do the demons plead? Mark 5:10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country
And earlier, knowing that the Son of God, the one to whom all judgment is commited is right before them, they plead DON”T TORMENT US. What are they talking about? Matthew records what they said like this: Matt 8:29
And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
These demons know who Jesus is and he knows as Luke records that the fulness of time has not yet, come, the fulness of time will come in two steps when Jesus deals with our sins and evil and triumphs over Satan and the demons power over us on the Cross - paying for our sins - and binds Satan from deceiving the whole world, and they know that when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead he will also - cast Satan and the demons into the Abyss the lake of fire, completely removing all evil from this world! And these demons know that time has not yet come so they lead for Jesus who will set this man free, let’s invade and bring destruction somewhere else!
And you can almost see the corner of Jesus mouth turn up in a smile with a twinkle of his eye as those demons delude with evil and bent on destruction suggest: Mark 5:12 they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them. Now if you think pigs are stupid, what bout these demons. The shock of demon possession upon them, they stampede - rush in a crazy frenzy off that cliff to a watery piggy grave - and these spirits shown for what they really bring destruction left homeless and wandering.
Do you see what Jesus does in asking this man his name, in speaking God’s gospel word of liberation to him? He solves the problem of evil. That’s exactly why he came into this world for you and me who may not be possessed by unclean spirits but who like the rest of this world, like our culture in bondage to decay because of sin. 1 John 3:8
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
He outwits the devils and makes them utterly foolish. By a mere word he accomplishes what the chains of the townsmen and what the regions police force could never do. Just like with the storm, if you are in the boat with Son of God and awaken Him - chaos flees. So too if Jesus comes into your life like into this demoniac - guess what Evil has no real power or initiative when Jesus comes on the scene. The proclamation of the of the Word of Christ restrains the forces of evil in our lives in our community. It works against all the disorder and corruption around us. It subdues evil. And as Torrance points out where there is no Word of Christ, there are only two option - either evil will grow or we just try to forge stronger and stronger chains, try to control people bigger police force, state controls more. But we need Christ to come and His word to subdue the hearts of men and women boys and girls like us,.
And look at the result - you have screaming violent, out of control, pathetic half clothed wild man at the beginning of the story - almost no longer human that’s what evil will bring us to, but when we hear and receive the Word of Jesus what do we have at the end of the story? Mark 5:15a clothed and in his right mind. I asked at the beginning of this story if you have ever felt not your self out of control . The book of Proverbs pictures it like a little stumble into sin, then pattern in your life, then launch full steam into all out snowball avalanche - out of the path of life - Not your self, the self God created you to be alive to reflecting his glory. But now just look at this man - clothed, on e of those extra tunics disciples had. So clearly see it on his face, he’s look into the face of the Son of God - eyes his countenance transformed. - he’s more truly himself than ever before. Jesus didn’t come just to tweak your attitude and overcome a little human flaw in your behaviour. Jesus came to you like he came to this demoniac to deliver you and me from powers and forces greater than ourselves, and to drive that darkness to which we are in bondage to Stan out of our lives, TO reverse the corruption and the disorder. Ultimately this invention of Jesus is the victory of the Cross and resurrection. That evil just as real in your life and in our world, and only Christ coming with the power of the Cross and Resurrection can we watch and pray and fight them! So this man with that Word of Christ setting hi free, He’s not running frantically stumbling along in evil. Now he is seated. And look what Mark records that he is asking: Mark 5:18
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
He is sitting at Jesus feet, in true worship now and what’s his hearts desire? Jesus - Lord of the Storms and Stiller of the inner storm of evil within us all, Jesus who is Very God of Very God, but hasn’t come now to judge and punish evil, Jesus who has come int the most unclean, the most hopeless territory of my life. Jesus I want to be your disciple. Dio you remember why Jesus called those 12 appointing them apostles? Why? Mk 3:14
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
Do you remember now what I said the heart of discipleship is - its just to be with Jesus. And that brings us to what for most people is the troubling and distracting conclusion about the wiping out of some farmer economic interest, with the drowning of 2000 squealing pigs. And to do this we need to put ourselves in the sandals of those towns people.
C. Make the Evaluation & Decide: A Hopeless Man’s Soul vs. The Profit of Your Bacon
C. Make the Evaluation & Decide: A Hopeless Man’s Soul vs. The Profit of Your Bacon
After the herds men see the towns profits for the year flushed down the toilet, they run to town. The towns people come out and they see the wonder of a man made whole by Jesus. Miracle of wholeness - evil truly gone and a life transformed. But look at there response. First of all Mark 5:15
And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
They were afraid. This is just like the sinful response to the storm - not fear of God that drives out all fear, not awe and wonder that attracts to this one; but they are afraid of a world - where the hopeless transformed, they would rather have that man in chains and unclothed wandering among tombs dehumanized and screaming that in his right mind with Jesus and ready to live among them. The bacon was worth more to them than that. If people set free from evil - how else might ourselves change. .Fear the unknown and they send Jesus packing because they just want the best this world without Jesus can offer, than Jesus. Jesus put it plainly for the Jews on the other side of the lake too, can’t serve both God and mammon. One will be your master, and you make a choice - could be shoving the Son of God right out of your life! Vv.17 they beg him to depart from their region
Now picture he who had been saved, awfully tempting to get in the Saviour boat and not return to life in the Decapolis. He asks to depart with Jesus. But look at Jesus response: Mark 5:19
And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
The story is told of a young ophthalmologist, just graduated and opened up practice but no one came. Getting desperate. Went out on the streets and found a blind man. Why don’t you come with me, why have’t you had a surgery - Man agreed. Surgery done and could see, by the way Christian Blind Mission … But hat man said thank you but I have nothing to pay you with. The doctor smiled oh but you do and you must. You must go around and tell all you know that their is ophthalmologist who took you off the street completely blind and able to perform a surgery and now you see.
That’s what Jesus is asking to do to this man. And you can imagine it may feel as hopeless that they would listen to him who seems to be the source of the upheaval and loss of cash to the town. But like Jesus this man isn’t afraid to go to seemingly hopeless situation seemingly hopeless people, Like St Jude saint of hopeless causes. And like Jesus calls you and me to do - just tell them what He has done. Don’t need some extreme dramatic testimony a witness of mercy and forgiveness and hope and peace and restoration that Jesus gives. Go to the fpoel you know and tell them. And look at his response so different than the towns:
Mark 5:20
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Mark records that he not just told people informally, but he did what he records Jesus doing once at the beginning, Proclaiming the Kingdom of God, and what Jesus then sent out 12 and then the 70 to do to proclaim , kerux to preach. And where does he do it? Can you tell me who wrote this first gospel for? Gentiles. Can you tell me how it ends - go and preach this gospel to the whole creation to Jews and also the Gentiles. And here we have the first apostle, sent by Jesus to the Gentiles. Not going to get it all yet, Jesus hadn’t died and risen ascended into heaven. But he tells them simply of Jesus of His Power as the Son of God to deliver - and when you tell people stuff like that they begin to marvel not about you abut about him. And by the next 25 years, this region maybe because f the ground work of this one who just witnessed received the gospel.
Well in your life I don’t doubt that there are people in the town’s people shoes, who would rather send Jesus packing than have tidy life in broken world disturbed. But you have had your life upended because you have been in this demoniac shoes and get Jesus. And Mark writes this gospel so that marveling at that grace and transformation , listen ing to the liberating Word of Jesus we would bring it t our world. Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.
In conclusion. i want to share a prayer I prayed for our former congregation. Lord we have such nice tidy cars in our parking lot. I pray that you would bring a real clunker, carrying someone with a life that people here would call hopeless. Well God answered that prayer, and John Mckay who rejected by whole bunch of Woodstock area churches, and then even by police - pulled in to our church parking lot and then moved into our town. Kind of scary , kind of broken, had to have people sit with him so didn’t intimidate people. after and he spoke of his past and his present. And you know what the townspeople of our congregation - had to make sometimes at a bit of coast, but they didn’t care for their bacon more than they did for this hopeless case that they now knew his name and story and his embrace of Jesus! And John though work through so much brokenness would tell others , and what the Lord had done for him, and over the course of a number of years - brought a girl friend also - it worked out - and a testimony -
I hope you realize it is not just the late John McKay who would be a hopeless case, but all of us in the trap of evil. And all of us who have turned to Jesus, we all have a story to tell, not just of who Jesus is to us, but of what He has done for and in us!